Fifthly, it has been demonstrated scientifically, over and over again, that man can communicate with trees and that such communications can be recorded and evaluated instrumentally. For further information in easily digestible form read, for example, The Secret Life of Plants, by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird.

There are many ways of relating to trees. We include this description of how one individual, Dr. Malcolm Hollick, views the possibilities, which appeared in a recent issue of the cutting-edge journal, Network Review, published by The Scientific & Medical Network:

“I can relate to a tree as a beautiful picture or a graceful dancer, as an example of a particular species, or as an ecosystem of tree, lichens, epiphytes, insects and birds. Or I can measure and quantify it, and simulate it on my computer. In all these cases, the tree remains an object, an It. But I can also relate to the tree as a Being that is aware of my presence and touch and love; that draws my attention and ‘speaks’ to me of its life story, offering me companionship, empathy and shelter. I can encounter the tree itself free from conceptualisations. And in doing so, I need not deny the other ways of knowing, which deepen and broaden my connection with the tree as a Being.”

While many admire the beauty of trees and sense the power of their presence, consciously attuning to trees or intentionally listening or entering into communion with them may be new or relatively new experiences. To inspire and assist whoever wishes to explore these possibilities, a selection of texts appears in Gospel of the Living Tree by Roderic Knowles (in the chapter Holy Communion: Attuning, Communing & Communicating with Trees) in which individuals of impeccable credentials in their various fields share their experiences in relating to trees: These include passages by the renowned Christian philosopher, Martin Buber; scientists Marcel Vogel and Brian Swimme; Saint-Exupéry, aviator and author of The Little Prince; D.H. Lawrence; English essayist Mark Rutherford; Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk; Taoist Master, Mantak Chia; wisdom-teachers Krishnamurti and Elizabeth Haich; the shaman, Joseph Rael, otherwise known as ‘Beautiful Painted Arrow’; along with an extract from Szekeley’s, The Essene Gospel of Peace.

Attuning to Trees

Attuning to trees – more specifically, to the intelligences over-lighting them – is a first step towards working consciously in co-creative relationships with them. Two of the greatest plant breeders of all time, the Americans Luther Burbank and George Washington Carver, both of whom knew the intelligence of plants to be a fact, worked intentionally with it, achieving results many considered miraculous.

Today, we are witnessing a spiritual renaissance. More and more people are ‘waking up’, becoming more aware. They are not only acknowledging the fact that creative intelligences are at work throughout Nature, within all its forms, contrary to prevailing materialistic scientific paradigms, but they are having their own direct experiences confirming this. More and more are attuning to these intelligences, communicating, and working in collaborative relationships with them. Anyone may do so. Some, like Machaelle Small Wright of Perelendra Gardens in Virginia, USA, are doing so professionally. Anyone wishing further information on the simple procedures involved may obtain it through her publications. The Perelendra Garden Workbook is highly recommended as a practical guide to working with Nature Intelligences. Our own, out of our own experiences, will be forthcoming in due course. Watch this space!